The number of persons in the United States with student debt is at an all-time high. Individuals in their twenties graduate from university with a degree or diploma but no possibility of paying it back.
This is why so many students are forced to work while studying, perhaps jeopardizing their education. One Starbucks barista posted a video of themselves crying in the backroom after being assigned to perform an eight-hour shift on the weekend. The internet is divided on the subject.
Everyone has a different sense of a productive timetable, frequently leading to arguments. This is represented in a recent video uploaded by a Starbucks worker. After a 25-hour work week, he was slated to perform an eight-hour shift over the weekend.
This would not seem unusual in certain situations, and they would jump at the chance to put in as many hours as possible. Yet, in this employee’s situation, it is too much to bear, and he requests that Starbucks unionize.
“People question why Starbucks needs a union. I’m on the verge of quitting. “Right now, I’m bawling in the back room,” he stated in the now-viral video.
Not only was he required to work these long hours, but his management did not consider that he was also a full-time student. In today’s world, most students have no choice but to work. Otherwise, they will be unable to make their monthly student loan payments. This is the norm if they want to graduate.
But, this barista is struggling to keep up with the quantity of work they have on top of their academics. “I attend classes full-time. I have 25 hours each week booked. So, on weekends, they book me for the entire day, from start to finish. The one is slated for 8.5 hours on both Saturday and Sunday.”
As if the long hours weren’t enough, the barista complained about their boss’s work ethic and the rudeness of the customers they had to serve daily.
He may or may not be used to being misgendered because he is trans. But, this employee is tired, which is easily overpowering when combined with nasty clients who refer to him as “she.”
A client became irritated when the overworked Starbucks barista did not have their order ready. “She’s incompetent,” they said. This enraged the barista even more, and he reminded him of his facial hair.
The angry employee in the video spoke about how understaffed they are. The management has only 13 staff. Unfortunately, on that particular weekend shift, they only booked five people to come in, and one dropped out at the last minute, leaving four people to man the store. To top it all off, the manager had been scheduled as well.
But they altered it because they thought no one would notice, according to the barista. “Our manager was supposed to come in this weekend; he removed himself from the schedule so he wouldn’t be held accountable for calling out,” he explained. He just tore down the schedule he was on and put up a new one.”
The exhausted barista closed her video by stating that a union is required to secure fair scheduling. “We need a union because this can’t happen,” the barista explained. “This is not going to happen.
We require equitable scheduling and managers that hold themselves accountable for assisting. They refuse to turn off mobile orders, and we need the freedom to do so since there are so many orders, and I can’t get through them all. Then people yell at me because I don’t have the orders ready. “I’m at a loss for what to do.”
Several comments from older generations linked their youth to this overworked Starbucks employee. “Do I pity this young privileged kid?” one user commented. No. I was 17 when I went overseas with an M-16—twelve days or 24 hours a day. There was lousy food, bad weather, and dangerous conditions. Some of the best times I’ve ever had and friendships that will last a lifetime. “Youth, grow up.”
More comments followed, demonstrating their common agreement and support. “People in the comments said, ‘I’m a nurse, and I work 16-hour shifts, suck it up,” one person stated. Maybe you should quit torturing yourselves so much. You don’t earn brownie points for sg on someone weary, underpaid, and overwhelmed and expressing it.”
